Deal overcomes Muslim burial land shortage

The Muslim Cemetery Trust says it is relieved that an acute shortage of burial space in Sydney has been overcome.

The New South Wales Government is allocating land, known as Lot 10, at Rookwood Cemetery to be shared equally between the Muslim and Jewish faiths.

It will provide 6,000 double-depth plots for Muslims.

Ahmad Kamaledine, from the Muslim Cemetery Trust, says the community had been concerned they would run out of plots before the end of the year.

"For us as a Muslim community now with Lot 10 the news is overwhelming," he said.

"In six months we had nowhere to bury our dead. I don't have words for the overwhelming happiness that I have out of this news."

The State Government says it is embarking on an overhaul of the way cemeteries and crematoriums are managed.

All eight of Sydney's Crown cemeteries are expected to reach capacity by 2035, if no action is taken.

Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson says, as part of the overhaul, the government has brokered a merger between six of the seven trusts which manage Rookwood.

"Instead of pulling on government coffers to find new burial lands for these faiths, by pooling their capital together they will be able to leverage the funds that they need in order to buy new burial land," she said.

A board will be established to tackle the immediate land shortage, and help the Government develop legislation to streamline more than a dozen existing laws into one.